Posted by The G on June 25, 2015 under GNN, The G Spot | Comments are off for this article

Photo of the movie poster and moderately sized rant by G.

The Yes Men Are Revolting

Before we discuss the must see movie, “The Yes Men Are Revolting,” let me ask you if you’ve ever heard of The Yes Men? If you answered no, I am here to shame you into getting your head out of your ass and telling you to wake up. The news media loves to report on all of the “isms” and all the “phobias” – racism, sexism, ageism, homophobia, transphobia, phobia, phobia, phobia, ism, ism, ism. The media has cleverly packaged these crimes against humanity it as “your life is totally fucked because of these people.” Before you call me a callus asshole (maybe it’s too late?), yes – all these problems suck. Yes, it’s a ridiculous shame that in 2015 we still have people killing others because their belief system varies from that of another person. Yes, it is ridiculous that people are still holding grudges about injustices that happened long before any of us were alive. Yes, it’s ridiculous that there are people who hate you because you are different than they are. When you think about it, haters have existed since the beginning of time. There are always a few bad apples ruining it for everyone? What is being done about it aside from spreading more fear?

Are we teaching the “theory of gravity” in schools? The “theory of gravity” is this: take a black person, a white person, a man, a woman, a straight, a gay, a religious person and a non religious person and have them all leap off a 50 story building at the same time and who is the superior group? Gravity doesn’t give a fuck about your circumstances! Therefore, we should respect the laws of gravity and we should respect ourselves! You don’t need a degree in physics to figure this out!

I see a lot of Facebook and Twitter bitterness but I am not really seeing people taking action to make change happen. I think people get off on being angry, to be perfectly honest. This is why people share stories before fact checking and this is why there is an influx of people complaining but not taking action. The reason I bring all this up is because while everyone is ‘Facebook madder than hell’ about all these issues, the one issue that affects EVERYBODY ON THIS PLANET – global warming (or climate change), is an issue that is being swept under the rug.

While we are being distracted by all this unnecessary bullshit, corporations and governments are ensuring that we are all one step closer to the grave. There can’t be haters if there are no people left on the planet.

Enter the Yes Men. For over a decade, Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno (Not their real names, which makes them even more awesome), have been pulling pranks on corporations and government agencies to bring forth change. They are not sharing stories on social media about cute animals and they are not writing posts about the top 20 reasons a particular issue makes them mad. Instead, they are taking action and more than that, they are documenting it to try and spread these important messages to the masses.

I could not describe the Yes Men better than they way they do on their website, so I am just going to quote it verbatim because this paragraph alone is the reason you should not only know who they are, but follow their every move for updates on how to make this world a better place.

“The Yes Men are a group who use any means necessary to agree their way into the fortified compounds of commerce, and then smuggle out the stories of their undercover escapades to provide a public glimpse at the behind-the-scenes world of big business. The stories are often both shocking and hilarious. They have been called “the Jonathan Swift of the Jackass generation” by author Naomi Klein. The Yes Men have impersonated World Trade Organization, Dow Chemical Corporation, and Bush administration spokesmen on TV and at business conferences around the world. They do this (a) in order to demonstrate some of the mechanisms that keep bad people and ideas in power, and (b) because it’s absurdly fun. Their main goal is to focus attention on the dangers of economic policies that place the rights of capital before the needs of people and the environment. Right now they’re focused on passing carbon emissions laws in the USA.”

Each of their films – “The Yes Men,” “The Yes Men Fix The World,” and their latest “The Yes Men Are Revolting” are part documentary, part prank and if you think you have balls, you haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen the Yes Men in action. They are like the Banksys of environmental issues and they are truly gods who walk amongst us for risking everything to try and bring forth positive change.

Please please please go see their films. They are available to stream and “The Yes Men Are Revolting” is showing in select theaters across the country. Please please please sign up for updates on their site. Please please please become a member of The Yes Lab, where you can help carry out these types of projects on your own. The world depends on it.